The Little Things
by CJ Lauren
Summary: Jane is determined to brighten Cho's Christmas. After all, he knows what it's like to be spending the holidays alone. Takes place sometime before season 6.


**Written for AgentERA for the Paint it Red Stocking Swap 2013. The prompt is at the end, to avoid spoiling the story ;)**

* * *

"Cho, what are you still doing here? Go on home," Lisbon gently chided him.

"Working," Cho answered.

Lisbon frowned. They had closed their last case, and her team was lucky enough to have Christmas day off, though they had had to work on Christmas Eve. "Working on what?"

"Catching up on some stuff," he muttered, turning back to the papers that he had been mindlessly reading, effectively ending the conversation.

Jane had been feigning sleep on the couch, listening to the exchange. Cho had been acting strange, lately. It had all started a few weeks earlier, when he came back after taking a day off. He did a good job of hiding it, but anyone who paid attention had noticed that he was even more quiet than usual, that he didn't joke around much. In fact, he rarely spoke at all unless it was about a case.

"What are your plans for Christmas, Cho?" Jane asked as Lisbon walked away, opening his eyes a bit to watch his response.

Cho's jaw tightened ever so slightly. "Nothing," he answered.

"Nothing? You usually have plans though…you usually spend the holidays with your brother Michael," Jane mused. "Why not this year?"

"Half-brother," Cho automatically corrected. "Wait, how do you… never mind. I don't want to know." He was well aware that Jane held no regard for privacy or personal boundaries.

"You know, Lisbon and I are going to go out for drinks, since neither of us has plans. Do you want to join us?" Jane offered.

"No. Lisbon asked me already," Cho answered. He really just wanted to be left alone. Of course, Jane wasn't going to stop until he got an answer, and he sat up to face his friend.

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing."

Jane fixed Cho with a penetrating stare, but the other man didn't even glance at him. He had been staring at the same page for the last ten minutes.

Determined to get to the bottom of this, Jane hurried over to Lisbon's office and walked in.

"I told you, I'll come find you as soon as I'm done the paperwork," Lisbon said, not even glancing up at him. "Paperwork that is your fault, I might add."

"Why did you give Cho a day off two weeks ago?"

Lisbon sighed, and studied Jane carefully, wondering what had prompted the question. She had suspected it was only a matter of time before he got suspicious. "That's none of your business."

"He's been too quiet. Something happened," Jane stated.

"If you say so," Lisbon answered, turning back towards her paperwork, hoping that Jane wouldn't be able to read the answer on her face. Cho had asked her not to tell anyone where he was going, and she intended to respect his request.

Jane turned to leave, his suspicions having been confirmed by Lisbon's silence.

He went back to the bullpen, but instead of sitting on the couch, he sat down on a chair next to Cho's desk. Cho's shoulders stiffened, but otherwise he showed no sign that he knew Jane was there.

"You should come with us, tonight," Jane said quietly.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Cho answered, sounded only vaguely interested in Jane's response.

"Nobody should be alone on Christmas."

Cho sighed, exasperated. "I'm fine."

"Your brother died, didn't he? That's where you went, a couple of weeks ago?"

Cho glanced up at Jane for the first time. "Yes."

"What happened?"

"Suicide," was Cho's bitter reply, and then he went back to the file that he was reading.

"You really should come with Lisbon and I," Jane repeated softly. "Trust me, spending the holiday alone seems like a much better idea than it really is. When you really don't want to celebrate anything, you think staying away from everyone is the best thing to do. You can avoid all the people enjoying the festivities, and avoid raining on their parade, so to speak. But distractions are good…and it's good to remember that you have friends."

Cho was quiet as he considered Jane's words. He supposed that if anyone knew about spending the holidays alone, it was Jane. He had watched the holidays gradually get easier for his friend over the years, and he thought maybe it would be a good idea to take Jane's advice.

Just then, Lisbon came out from her office, carrying her coat. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Jane nodded, with a meaningful look at Cho.

"Cho, are you sure you don't want to come?" Lisbon asked.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Jane added. "And if you want to leave, you can. We won't handcuff you to the wall."

Cho let out a small chuckle. "I'd like to see you try."

Jane grinned widely. "Is that a challenge?"

Rolling her eyes, Lisbon turned to Cho. "Come on. I promise there will be no handcuffing."

"Alright," Cho sighed, and somewhat reluctantly allowed his two beaming friends to usher him out of the building. Maybe they were right, and it would be just what he needed.

* * *

**Prompt: All Cho wants for Christmas is to be left alone after his older half-brother's suicide. Jane and Lisbon have other plans.**


End file.
